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Leviticus 21:1-15
New English Translation

Rules for the Priests

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron—say to them: ‘For a dead person[a] no priest[b] is to defile himself among his people,[c] 2 except for his close relative who is near to him[d]—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, 3 and his virgin sister who is near to him,[e] who has no husband—he may defile himself for her. 4 He must not defile himself as a husband among his people so as to profane himself.[f] 5 Priests[g] must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body.[h]

6 “‘They must be holy to their God, and they must not profane[i] the name of their God, because they are the ones who present the Lord’s gifts,[j] the food of their God. Therefore they must be holy.[k] 7 They must not take a wife defiled by prostitution,[l] nor are they to take a wife divorced from her husband,[m] for the priest[n] is holy to his God.[o] 8 You must sanctify him because he presents the food of your God. He must be holy to you because I, the Lord who sanctifies you all,[p] am holy. 9 If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death.[q]

Rules for the High Priest

10 “‘The high[r] priest—who is greater than his brothers, and on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who has been ordained[s] to wear the priestly garments—must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments.[t] 11 He must not go where there is any dead person;[u] he must not defile himself even for his father or for his mother. 12 He must not go out from the sanctuary and must not profane[v] the sanctuary of his God, because the dedication of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the Lord. 13 He must take a wife who is a virgin.[w] 14 He must not marry[x] a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people[y] as a wife, 15 so that he does not profane his children among his people,[z] for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 21:1 tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 19:28 above and the literature cited there).
  2. Leviticus 21:1 tn Heb “no one,” but “priest” has been used in the translation to clarify that these restrictions are limited to the priests, not to the Israelites in general (note the introductory formula, “say to the priests, the sons of Aaron”).
  3. Leviticus 21:1 tc The MT has “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
  4. Leviticus 21:2 tn Heb “except for his flesh, the one near to him.”
  5. Leviticus 21:3 tn Cf. v. 2a.
  6. Leviticus 21:4 tn Heb “He shall not defile himself a husband in his peoples, to profane himself.” The meaning of the line is disputed, but it appears to prohibit a priest from burying any relative by marriage (as opposed to the blood relatives of vv. 2-3), including his wife (compare B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 142-43 with J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348).
  7. Leviticus 21:5 tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  8. Leviticus 21:5 tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).
  9. Leviticus 21:6 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
  10. Leviticus 21:6 sn Regarding the Hebrew term for “gifts,” see the note on Lev 1:9 above (cf. also 3:11 and 16 in combination with the word for “food” that follows in the next phrase here).
  11. Leviticus 21:6 tc Smr and all early versions have the plural adjective “holy” rather than the MT singular noun “holiness.”
  12. Leviticus 21:7 tn Heb “A wife harlot and profaned they shall not take.” The structure of the verse (e.g., “wife” at the beginning of the two main clauses) suggests that “harlot and profaned” constitutes a hendiadys, meaning “a wife defiled by harlotry” (see the explanation in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 143, as opposed to that in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 343, 348; cf. v. 14 below). Cf. NASB “a woman who is profaned by harlotry.”
  13. Leviticus 21:7 sn For a helpful discussion of divorce in general and as it relates to this passage see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 143-44.
  14. Leviticus 21:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the priest) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Leviticus 21:7 tn The pronoun “he” in this clause refers to the priest, not the former husband of the divorced woman.
  16. Leviticus 21:8 tn The three previous second person references in this verse are all singular, but this reference is plural. By adding “all” this grammatical distinction is preserved in the translation.
  17. Leviticus 21:9 tn See the note on “burned to death” in 20:14.
  18. Leviticus 21:10 tn The adjective “high” has been supplied in the translation for clarity, as in many English versions.
  19. Leviticus 21:10 tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33.
  20. Leviticus 21:10 tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b). In the translation “garments” has been employed rather than “clothes” to suggest that the special priestly garments are referred to here; cf. NRSV “nor tear his vestments.”
  21. Leviticus 21:11 tc Although the MT has “persons” (plural), the LXX and Syriac have the singular “person” corresponding to the singular adjectival participle “dead” (cf. also Num 6:6).
  22. Leviticus 21:12 sn Regarding “profane,” see the note on Lev 10:10 above.
  23. Leviticus 21:13 tn Heb “And he, a wife in her virginity he shall take.”
  24. Leviticus 21:14 tn Heb “take.” In context this means “take as wife,” i.e., “marry.”
  25. Leviticus 21:14 tc The MT has literally, “from his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “from his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
  26. Leviticus 21:15 tc The MT has literally, “in his peoples,” but Smr, LXX, Syriac, Targum, and Tg. Ps.-J. have “in his people,” referring to the Israelites as a whole.
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Leviticus 21:1-15
Expanded Bible

How Priests Must Behave

21 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell these things to Aaron’s sons, the priests: ‘A priest must not make himself unclean [C in a ritual sense] ·by touching a dead person [L for a death among his people/relatives]. 2 ·But if the dead person was one of his close relatives, he may touch him [L …except for a close relative]. The priest may make himself unclean if the dead person is his mother or father, son or daughter, brother or 3 ·unmarried [L virgin] sister who is close to him because she has no husband. The priest may make himself unclean for her if she dies. 4 But a priest must not make himself unclean ·if the dead person was only related to him by marriage [L as a husband among his people].

5 “‘Priests must not shave their heads, or shave off the edges of their beards, or cut their bodies [C as pagan priests often did]. 6 They must be holy to their God and ·show respect for [L not defile] God’s name, because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord, which is the food of their God. So they must be holy [19:27–28].

7 “‘A priest must not marry ·a defiled prostitute [or a prostitute or a defiled woman] or a divorced woman, because he is holy to his God. 8 Treat him as holy, because he offers up the food of your God. Think of him as holy; I am the Lord who ·makes you holy [consecrates/sanctifies you], and I am holy.

9 “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she ·shames [defiles] her father. She must be burned with fire.

10 “‘The high priest, who was ·chosen from among his brothers [L exalted among his brothers], had the ·special [L anointing] olive oil poured on his head. He was also ·appointed [consecrated] to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not let his hair go uncombed or tear his clothes [C signs of mourning]. 11 He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean [C in a ritual sense], even if it is for his own father or mother. 12 The high priest must not go out of the ·Holy Place [sanctuary], because if he does and becomes ·unclean [defiled], he will make God’s ·Holy Place [sanctuary] unclean. The ·special oil used in appointing priests [L anointing oil] was poured on his head to separate him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.

13 “‘The high priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or ·a defiled prostitute [or a defiled woman or a prostitute; v. 7]. He must marry a virgin from his own people 15 so ·the people will respect his children as his own [he will not defile his children]. I am the Lord. I have ·set the high priest apart for his special job [sanctified/consecrated him].’”

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